Gazing into each other's eyes
by GamblingDementor
Summary: 30 day OTP challenge: Day twenty five, your OTP gazing into each other's eyes. Varrick gets nostalgic while cooking in family.


"Where do you think you're going, little lady?"

Aricka stopped in her tracks, slowly turning around, caught like a deercat in the headlights. Varrick gave her his serious father eyes (though he was quite certain she saw right through them and knew she could get away with sneaking away if she really wanted to) and she sighed like she'd just been asked to sell all her earthly possessions and go live as an airbender.

"Come on, Daddy, you know I hate cooking."

"This isn't about what you like! It's your sister's birthday, sweetie, you can't just go wherever you want and not help us!"

"I _can_, you just won't let me."

"Okay, here's the deal. Kukicha is coming home from her sleepover at Bolin's in an hour. We are all making her favourite meal for lunch. You are helping us."

"And in exchange?"

"You get to test drive the next models of Varriplanes and I won't tell your mother."

She rubbed her chin, deep in thought for a grand total of three seconds, then nodded.

"Okay, let's go _cooking_," she said, shuddering.

"Good, you found her," said Zhu Li, giving their older daughter her serious mother eyes that were definitely a lot more threatening than his father eyes. "Aricka, this is a family activity and I won't have you escape."

"Ugh…"

"What was that?"

"_Nothing_."

Aricka wordlessly took the knife Zhu Li handed her − though was it really wise to give a sharp tool to an angry child? − and began cutting the veggies with much less enthusiasm than her brothers. Zu and Lee were playing the mirror game, doing the exact same thing at the exact same time, each on one side of the table. Everything they did was perfectly synchronized, from grabbing sea prunes, slicing them, scratching their neck, putting the slices into the pan, rubbing their eyes, to finally giggling together like the two little rascals they were. At least it kept them out of trouble and, Varrick had to admit, was kind of entertaining for the rest of them.

Varrick sat in front of Zhu Li, who was making Kukicha's favourite dumplings dutifully.

"So what did you get for Cookie, boys?" he asked.

"I got her a book."

"Me too."

"Wow, really going out of your way," Aricka snickered.

Zhu Li smiled. Kukicha was probably the only child who loved reading as much as she did. And the rest of the family had caught on that very early. Zu and Lee had given her books every year without fail, just like they always gave Zhu Li, and both of them had always greatly appreciated the gifts.

"What's the book about?"

"Ugh, I don't know, some boring old city."

"Mine's about Omashu!" Lee shouted.

"Omashu! That's the city."

"I just said that, dum dum."

"You both got her a book about Omashu?" Aricka asked with a look in her eyes that really said mountains about what she thought about the idea.

"Well it's not the _same_ book! We're not dumb!"

"You could have me fooled."

Zhu Li and Varrick stared at each other dumbfounded. He just knew that she was thinking about the same thing as he was, judging by the very discreet blush coloring her cheeks.

Omashu had been one of the first stops of their honeymoon trip. With years of marriage and four children, they found it increasingly difficult to spend all their waking time together, just the two of them, but during that first trip as a married couple, it was all they had done, gaze into each other's eyes and do naughty things. They had barely left their room at all during their stay in Omashu, and when they had, it had been to engage in some kinky public fantasy, touching each other inappropriately hiding in the stone boxes of the post system. Now that was some holiday Varrick remembered extremely well. How could he forget how amazing it had been to be newlyweds. They still had lots to discover about each other at the time. Of course, he loved that he knew his sweet Zhu Li by heart now, but it had been an amazing time of his life when he still had to learn everything about her as a partner, as a wife.

Gazing into her eyes now, he could still see his lovely bride the day he took her for wife. They still sparkled the same way.

"Earth to Daddy, earth to Mommy!"

Varrick got back to his senses, his eyes widening when he realized he had not heard one word of whatever his children might have been saying, so deep into his thoughts he'd been.

"What now?!"

"Do you think she'll like it?"

"Oh, if she's anything like me, son, she'll _love _Omashu and everything about it."

Somehow, he was now looking forward to tonight, after Kukicha's birthday party, when the children would go to bed. He was certain Zhu Li would not mind a little remembrance of their trip to Omashu.


End file.
